A few weekends ago, Sam and I hopped into the car and drove about 30 minutes outside of York to ride on the North York Moors Railway. “Riding a train for fun? Are you crazy?!” I hear you all shouting at your computer screens. But hear me out.
The North York Moors Railways still runs vintage steam trains, particularly, the Hogwarts Express. In a way: the North York Moors trains and the Goathland railway station was used as Hogsmead station in the very first Harry Potter film.
You also might recognise the area from “Heartbeat”.
Sam and I caught the train in Pickering and rode it all the way to Grosmont. Then we hopped off the train and walked along the moors to Goathland station to relish all things Harry Potter and have an ice cream cone. Then we caught the train at Goathland back into Pickering.
So many children and families on the train were dressed as their favourite Harry Potter characters. It was so sweet! (I was also slightly jealous that I wasn’t in a costume!) Sam and I were lucky enough to snag an entire cabin to ourselves. I promptly closed the door so that I could play out all my internal Hogwarts Express scenes. We were only in the 3rd Class Carriage but it still felt like the lap of luxury. If train travel was still like this, I’d enjoy taking the train loads more.
The only downside of the day was the fact that my hayfever was probably the worst it’s ever been this summer!
Have you ridden on a steam train before?
Here are some other Potter related posts:
A Harry Potter Guide to Edinbrugh
Harry Potter Studio Tours (Part 1)
Harry Potter Studio Tours (Part 2)
House of Minalima
Harry Potter and Politics
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